Pippen Ain't Easy
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ESPN Should Disrespect Derrick Rose More Often

By Paul Steeno

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Brian Windhorst, Chris Broussard or some other homer ESPN NBA reporter should write another article questioning the skills of Derrick Rose. The Chicago Bulls’ superstar point guard has been the recipient of heavy criticism from various news outlets throughout his career. The negative comments and doubts have only intensified as the major knee surgeries have piled up over the last 4 seasons. However, in typical Derrick Rose fashion, the 26 year old Chicago native has used the criticism to his advantage delivering elite performances at the expense of his doubters.

ESPN is currently conducting a countdown of the top 500 players in the NBA in reverse order. As of Wednesday October 22, the corporate media giant has reached #15 in its countdown. Naturally, as a fan of the NBA, these rankings sparked my interest as I wondered where Derrick Rose would land on the list. I figured that given his injury, he wouldn’t get a top 5 spot (but I firmly believe he will reclaim a top 5 spot once the season is through). However, I was figuring that Rose would land at least top 15 depending on the knowledge of the people doing the rankings. Top 20 at the absolute worst.

No, ESPN ranked Derrick Rose #28.  That is not a typo, I didn’t press 2 instead of 1 on my keyboard. Included in the players ranked ahead of him are Al Jefferson, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Damian Lillard.

The twitter backlash has been rampant…and entertaining. After wasting my time scrolling through the comments for a little while, this tweet by some random person amused me. Despite the randomness of the tweeter, the point he is trying to get across reflects the sentiments of many people around the nation.

Derrick Rose appeared ready to prove the ESPN naysayers wrong and this motivation was reflected in his performance Monday. Literally 6 hours after ESPN released Rose’s ranking, Derrick had his best preseason performance of the season dropping 30 points in 24 minutes on 12-18 from the field.

Here are the full highlights of Derrick Rose’s impressive performance against Cleveland on Monday.

I’d like to point out a few things that I noticed watching the game on Monday. There was never a doubt that Derrick Rose would be able to come back physically and perform at his pre-injury level. Although many wondered if Rose’s athletic ability would be compromised due to major surgeries in both of his knees, there was never a doubt in my mind that Rose would make a complete return. Obviously, this is a legitimate concern but  considering how hard Rose worked in his rehabilitation over the years it was doubtful from my perspective that Rose would lose his athletic ability. . The biggest challenge for Derrick was always going to be getting his mental edge back; he needed to fully trust both of his knees and refrain from not playing aggressively in fear of re-injuring himself. The way he was diving towards the basket, taking on two or three defenders in the process, signals to me that he is there mentally. He has looked good all pre-season, consistently putting up scoring numbers in the low teens in condensed minutes. The mental aspect is back, and that is a good sign for the Bulls.

Oct 20, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) at Value City Arena. Cleveland won the game 107-98. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

With that being said, there is an aspect of his game on Monday that I think can be improved on. Although Rose went 4-5 from three point territory against the Cavaliers, I don’t like him settling for long ranger jumpers. Essentially, settling for these threes bails out the defense. Derrick Rose has such an uncanny ability to get in the lane at a whim he needs to use this to his advantage whenever possible. Obviously, for Rose a layup, even a contested one really, is a higher quality shot than a three pointer. Additionally, Rose’s ability to break down defenses creates open shots for his teammates which undoubtedly will be higher quality than him settling for a long range three pointer.

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Rose looks to be on the path to returning to being an elite player in this league again. He expressed in an interview after the game Monday how the match-up against the elite superstars in Cleveland provided the best preparation for the regular season thus far this preseason.

"“It’s basketball,” Rose said. “I’ve been competing my whole life. I’m used to the stage, I’m used to playing against very good people, very good talent, and that’s all they got on that team is talent, so you know, when you play against them, you know you got to come out here and ball.”"

Rose dominated his battle against Kyrie Irving, a player that was ahead of him on the depth chart during the FIBA World Cup this summer. Rose scored 30 points on 12-18 shooting including 4-5 from behind the arc. Although Irving countered with an impressive 28 points, much of his production came when Aaron Brooks substituted in for Rose or when a pick-and-roll led Rose switching off of Kyrie.

Irving sure looks tired in this picture. Probably a byproduct of chasing Derrick Rose around all night.

Oct 20, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) is fouled by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

I was very excited that Rose was able to play at a superstar level only hours after being disrespected by ESPN’s player rankings. It is a classic example of a player defying the expectations of others.

So, ESPN please continue to write defamatory articles about Derrick Rose questioning his ability to return to previous form. Derrick Rose, and Bulls Nation, would really appreciate it.

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